Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-03-14

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greek premier participates in EU troika's social summit in Barcelona

[02] Iranian president calls for dialogue between cultures, lauds Greek

[03] President Stephanopoulos to visit Slovakia April 8-10

[04] Austria pays symbolic compensation to WWII-era forced labourers

[05] Trucks back up at northern border post with Turkey due to strike

[06] Forthnet offers range of fixed-line phone services

[07] 27-year old arrested for grabbing a handbag from woman in Athens

[08] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Friday

[09] ASE ends flat on Thursday

[01] Greek premier participates in EU troika's social summit in Barcelona

BARCELONA (ANA - CH. Poulidou) - Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Thursday participated in the social summit here, one day before the opening of the informal European Union summit.

The leaders of the EU presiding troika, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and Simitis, along with EU labor ministers and social partners discussed social issues on the basis of the Lisbon strategy.

''There was total agreement regarding the need for promoting the strategy of Lisbon and there was total agreement regarding the need for the establishment of dialogue and divergence regarding the implementation of structural changes,'' Simitis said.

The premier reiterated that the Lisbon strategy includes economic, labor and technological parameters and aims at making Europe a strong antagonistic power in the international community, allowing for high rates of development and maintaining the European social model, adding that in Greece many of these solid implementations of this strategy have been promoted.

[02] Iranian president calls for dialogue between cultures, lauds Greek civilization

''Authentic piety and true faith signal a willingness to learn and to hear,'' Iranian President Mohammad Ali Khatami-Ardakani said on Thursday in an address at the Athens Pantion University.

Khatami, who is conducting a three-day official visit to Greece, condemned menticide and stressed the necessity of dialogue between cultures and peoples, saying that ''we as Muslims had this ability in the past, because it is through dialogue that we reach a deeper level of culture and learning, we achieve a deep understanding of peace and security and ultimately we enjoy the most beautiful flowers of human existence''.

''You, people of Greece, nurtured the greatest poets and stated the deepest ideas on the nature of poetry,'' Khatami said in his speech, which was a hymn to the international importance of the ancient Greek civilization and its impact on both Christianity and Islam, stressing that both religions gained from the use of ancient Greek thought, but also from the dialogue between them.

Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos honored Khatami with the medal of the city of Athens, during their meeting the same day at the Athens City Hall.

The Iranian president spent part of his morning on Thursday visiting the Acropolis, accompanied by a delegation of Greek foreign ministry officials and an Iranian embassy delegation.

[03] President Stephanopoulos to visit Slovakia April 8-10

President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos is to visit Slovakia on April 8-10, accompanied by a delegation of business representatives.

Slovakia, which has posted a high rate of growth in recent years, imports a range of Greek products.

[04] Austria pays symbolic compensation to WWII-era forced labourers

Compensation to five Greek victims of forced labour camps in Nazi-occupied Austria during the Second World War was paid out during a ceremony at the Austrian embassy here on Thursday.

The symbolic sum of 2,543 euros each was bestowed to the beneficiaries.

Austrian ambassador to Athens Rene Pollitzer noted at the ceremony that the deadline for applications to the Austrian Reconciliation Fund is Nov. 27, whereas some 200 Greek citizens have so far have applied out of an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 eligible individuals.

[05] Trucks back up at northern border post with Turkey due to strike

Movement through a northern border post with Turkey has been severely disrupted due to a lasting strike by agriculture ministry employees carrying out controls on fresh produce, officials said on Thursday.

More than 80 trucks carrying perishable produce backed up on the Greek side of the Kipi border post in Evros, with congestion also reported on the Turkish side.

Strikers are reportedly mulling blockading the border post over the upcoming holiday weekend that would bar access to all vehicles including tourist coaches.

[06] Forthnet offers range of fixed-line phone services

Forthnet SA on Thursday announced its rates for fixed-line telephone services, available to household and corporate customers.

The company said in a statement that its rates for end-users were an average 15-20 percent cheaper than existing market charges.

Until recently, Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) held a monopoly in the fixed-line sector. Forthnet leases OTE's infrastructure.

Forthnet charges 0.024 euros per minute for local calls, excluding Value Added Tax, the statement said.

[07] 27-year old arrested for grabbing a handbag from woman in Athens

A 27-year-old man was arrested for grabbing a handbag from a woman, using his motorbike, on Thursday in the southern Athens metro Moshato municipality.

Alexandros Gioutziambasis was arrested, following a hot pursuit in the streets of Moshato, as police officers patrolling the area saw him ride by a woman and grab her handbag.

[08] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Friday

Sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country with early morning mist. Cloud will build up in the west and south later in the day. Winds north-northwesterly, light. In the north, temperatures will range from 5C to 18C; on the rest of the mainland from 8C to 20C; and in the islands from 10C to 19C. Sunshine in Athens with temperatures between 9C and 20C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 7C to 18C.

[09] ASE ends flat on Thursday

Equity prices ended Thursday's session flat on the Athens Stock Exchange, as a late rise in bank shares helped in partly reversing an earlier decline in telecoms and IT stocks.

The general index ended 0.08 percent higher at 2,386.33 points, with turnover a low 97.8 million euros.

The Bank, Retail and Holding sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (1.05 percent, 0.50 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively), while the Insurance, IT and Telecoms sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (1.21 percent, 0.81 percent and 0.56 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.48 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index eased 0.21 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index fell 0.06 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 148 to 136 with another 72 issues unchanged.

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